In my last post (Data vs Knowledge) I chronicled the progression from raw data to aggregated and filtered knowledge.
The next step is to to deliver a knowledgeable service that projects a user’s needs. This morning I had the opportunity to experience it first hand.
My bank has electronic bill pay as do most banks these days. Easier for me, cheaper for them, everybody’s happy. They recently initiated a service that alerts me by text message when a bill is received from one of the sources I’ve selected. A bill arrives from a credit card company and I get a text. I go to the bank’s web site to review it and order a payment on the day and in the amount I choose. This is great!
As part of this program they send me an alert when the bill is 5 days from the due date. This would prevent me from missing a payment and incurring overdue fees. I hate paying bank charges!!
My question to you is: Is this second notice data or a service? Does it just send me some numbers or does it provide me with something I need to know?
I am going to suggest that it is NOT a service and that it is merely providing me a product. My argument is this; the data point that I have a payment due is merely an unintelligent thing. Good to know but hardly good enough. Think about it, I get the note and suddenly I have to think, “Why are they pinging me? Did I schedule that payment yet or did I get distracted and forget it?” So I have to sit down, log in, and pull up the records.
Yes, I have it scheduled. OR Oops, I forgot and need to get it done.
If the bank were to think not just of the data they were delivering but of my reason for having it delivered they would have delivered usable information. What is my goal in all this? It’s to pay my bills and provide me with security and confidence. “You have a bill with AmEx for $1234.56 due on Wed., May 17th” makes me nervous and stressed.
The bank knows that I have a bill. They also know whether I scheduled the payment. A SERVICE would be to send a text like this.
“You have a bill from AmEx for $1234.56 due on Wed., May 17th. On May 5th you scheduled a payment of $1234.56 to be paid on Wed., May 17th. Your current balance for account ending in ..6789 is $2345.67"
or maybe
“You have a bill from AmEx for $1234.56 due on Wed., May 17th. You have NOT scheduled a payment yet. Your current balances are $345.67 debit account (..6789)and $4567.89 savings account (..6543).”
WOW !! This is a SERVICE that meets my goal of paying my bills on time. It gives me all the information I need and either let’s me relax or prompts me to action. Either way, I’m given everything I need to meet my goal all at once.
As designers and programmers we need to think of what our users need, not just what they ask for. We need to consider the bigger picture of what they want to accomplish. We need to discuss the reasons for their requests and use our knowledge and experience to help them reach their goals. It’s usually not that much harder and it sure is nice to see the users smile when we walk into the room.
